260 Rem vs. 7mm-08

[lomfs24]

I have a 260 Rem, actually it's my kids now, and I really liked it. But I have been following the thread in the the hunting section about the favorite short action for whitetail deer and A LOT of guys there are strongly leaning towards the 7mm-08. Same case, with only a marginally larger bullet.

I was hoping for some discussion from folks who have both or have had both and could compare one to the other. I have only had the 260 and have never even shot a 7mm-08. Are they nearly the same gun or is the 7mm-08 head and shoulders above a 260 and why?

One advantage I see the the 7mm-08 is that there seems to be a larger supply of factory ammo available.

[txbdyguard]

Had a .260 and have a 7mm-08. Friend bought my .260 Predator hunter. Both shot hogs this weekend my bullet dropped sow in her tracks his ran 30 yds. Same weight bullet and same shot placement.

[barrel-nut]

Before you buy a Savage 7-08, read thoroughly this thread:
Savage Mod. 14 AC 7-08 major accuracy issues help

7-08 is a great round; just make SURE you're getting a 1-9.5" twist barrel, not 1-11", or you will probably have trouble with 140 gr. and up bullets. Don't think that just because the box or the website says 9.5", that it must be true; check it before you buy.

If you liked the .260, why not get another?

[lomfs24]

Why not get another 260, barrel-nut? Here's the progression. I bought a 260 barrel and put it on a 308 action that I had. I actually bought the 308 as a donor rifle. And I really like the 260. When I went to build my kids gun I bought a Stevens long action because I could get it for a good price. I then bought a 6.5x47 Lapua barrel to put on it for the same reason. However, it was a heavy barrel which is a lot for an 11 y/o and second the long action magazine was having problems feeding the short 6.5x47 case. So I bought him a sporter 260 barrel for the Stevens and I put the 6.5x47 on my rifle. Now I have a 260 barrel laying around but no gun to put it on. Well, I do I just don't know if I want to tear down a 22-250 on a single shot J model.

Whew!!!! That was a long story.

Long story short, do I rebuild another rifle with the 260 barrel I already have or do I go with a 7mm-08 barrel. The gun I have right now for the donor would be a single shot J model and would probably be used for punching paper from 100 to 1K.

[barrel-nut]

I would get another action and stock from Jim at Northland, and use the .260 barrel, if you really like it. Just my opinion.

[fyimo]

My thoughts are that if you really liked the 260 Rem I don't think you need to switch because a lot of other people think the 7mm-08 is great. The 7mm cartridges have a large following in both the 7mm-08 and 7mm Rem Mag. I owned a 7mm Rem Mag and I had killed several animals with it including several Bull Elk but quite frankly my 30-06 has killed just as many. I gave my son my Sako 7mm Rem mag last year because he killed his trophy 6 point Bull with it on our trophy hunt in Colorado the year before. Sorry for the long story but zi believe most animals won't be able to tell the difference if you hit them well with a well constructed bullet from any of the short action rounds like the 7mm-08, 308, or 260 rem .

[Blue Avenger]

or you buy a 7-08 and change it back and forth with the 260 as the mood strikes.

[txbdyguard]

for the 260 if you are hunting big animals get a solid bullet The sierra's I loaded hit a rib and shattered no exit wound at 100 yds

[helotaxi]

The need for a good bullet is true regardless of cartridge.

[lomfs24]

I am beginning to think that the 260 and the 7mm-08 are pretty close together in terms of performance. One of the leading factors why so many people talk about the 7mm-08 is it's availability. Both in terms of firearms and ammunition. While the 260 remains a little harder to come by.

I like Blues's suggestion of buying a 7mm-08 and swapping the barrels as the mood strikes.

[barrel-nut]

I am beginning to think that the 260 and the 7mm-08 are pretty close together in terms of performance. One of the leading factors why so many people talk about the 7mm-08 is it's availability. Both in terms of firearms and ammunition. While the 260 remains a little harder to come by.

I like Blues's suggestion of buying a 7mm-08 and swapping the barrels as the mood strikes.


They are very close, for hunting purposes. You are correct about the greater selection of bullets for the 7mm, but that is changing too, as more 6.5 hunting bullets are being offered. Really almost a wash. I'd go with the .260, just to be different, and because you already have a good .260 barrel, right?

[stangfish]

As an added thought the swede's have been killing moose for a 120 years with 6.5x 55's at < 2300fps

[txbdyguard]

This weekend I shot a white tail spike at 125 yds with a 7mm 139 SST Hornady bullet over 42.5 grs of H4895 and shot him in the area above the shoulder where the neck meets and he dropped in his tracks. No bullet to recover and no meat destroyed to speak of. The 7mm-08 or 260 either will do the job.

[lomfs24]

Barrel Nut, I wouldn't go so far as to say a "good" 260 barrel. I have a EA Brown barrel. I have shot it and it's passable and certainly good enough for hunting. I have consistently gotten that barrel to shoot inside 12" at 900 yrds. And have consistently been on target at over 1100 with it. Although, I have never really shot groups at those ranges, they were on steel with a hit or miss rating system. So it's passable in my book. Albeit, not the best barrel around.

And I have taken a few deer with it already before I took it off in favor of a 6.5x47L. I do love that 6.5x47L but I also hate having barrels laying around that aren't being used. They are much too large for paper weights.

[GaCop]

I too had an E.A. Brown barrel in 260 and was never really impressed with the accuracy. Fouling was a PIA too.

[Blue Avenger]

Brown chambered blanks for a while and had good luck, Then they bought tooling to make there own barrels. That, they are on a learning curve with. There were some VERY bad ones that got out! I have not heard anything about them for a couple years. they were big into TC Contenders & Encores. They lost some market share . Like I say I have not been following them currently.

[GaCop]

Brown chambered blanks for a while and had good luck, Then they bought tooling to make there own barrels. That, they are on a learning curve with. There were some VERY bad ones that got out! I have not heard anything about them for a couple years. they were big into TC Contenders & Encores. They lost some market share . Like I say I have not been following them currently.


Still quite big with the Encore and Contender.